Eastern Conference Mid-Season Playoff Predictions

With the Western Conference mid-season playoff predictions out of the way, it's time to head to colder pastures. Here are my Eastern Conference mid-season playoff predictions:

The "We Barely Qualify As Predictions" Predictions

Ottawa Senators, 30-15-4, 64 pts

Despite losing each member of the league's best line at various times throughout the past month, the Ottawa Senators will have no trouble locking up a playoff birth. In fact, the Senators seem to be the unanimous choice to repeat as Eastern Conference Champs. The much more difficult prediction is who will be backstopping the Sens to the post-season.

New Jersey Devils, 28-18-3, 59 pts

Come on, it's Jersey. No matter who the Devils have in their lineup they still seem to get the job done. Combatting slow starts and the loss of star players with a solid system and adept coaching, the Devils will yet again look to spoil some aspiring teams playoff hopes.

Pittsburgh Penguins, 27-18-4, 58 pts

Unlike the past three Penguins teams, the Pens will actually have no problem making the playoffs, even without Sidney Crosby for an extended period of time. Immediately after it was reported that Crosby would miss up to two months with a high ankle sprain, polls hit the internet asking whether or not the Pens would be in the playoffs; enter Evgeni Malkin. No more than two games after the loss of Crosby, Evgeni Malkin tightened the straps on his day pack and began carrying the Penguins uphill; a fact which the entire league has taken notice to. Considering Crosby should be back well before the end of the regular season, the Pens will not be so concerned with if they'll be playing in late April, but who.

The "I Didn't Need to Call Miss Cleo to Get These Picks" Picks

Carolina Hurricanes, 24-24-4, 52 pts

Despite their recent losing slide over the past ten games and injuries to several key players, the Hurricanes are a team that could do some serious damage in the playoffs. Only a year removed from their first Stanley Cup, the Hurricanes have all the right ingredients for another Cup run, if only they could maintain the same focus that helped them reach their place of prominence almost two years ago.

Philadelphia Flyers, 27-16-5, 59 pts

Speaking of the '06 Hurricanes, this year's Flyers have a vague resemblance of the team that won the Cup two years ago. Mike Richards has played very similar to a less in-shape Rod Brind'Amour, Derian Hatcher comes across as a less likable and slightly crazier version of Mike Commodore, and Antero Niiittymaki could very well take over the number one goaltending reins from Martin Biron should he falter in the first round of the playoffs. If there were an award for most improved team in the NHL, the Broad Street Bullies would win it hands down. In just one year the Flyers have gone from the laughing stock of the league to a serious contender. In fact, the only thing keeping this team out of the top three in these predictions is that Sens, Devils, and Pens were all in the playoffs last year while the Flyers were not.

Boston Bruins, 26-19-5, 57 pts

The Bruins have been one of the bigger surprises in the league this season, all while missing one of their top three players, Patrice Bergeron, for a majority of the season. A great deal of credit should be given to general manager Peter Chiarelli for being patient over the past year with free agent acquisitions Zdeno Chara and Marc Savard as well as goaltender Tim Thomas. Though the same patience was not extended to his coaching staff last year, the sophomore GM did not panic when Savard and Chara had slow starts as Bruins, nor did he pull the trigger on a deal to get Thomas out of town. Granted, Chiarelli did deal for Manny Fernandez over the summer as an insurance policy, but said deal only seemed to fuel Thomas' determination to prove he is a worthy number one goaltender. Credit should also be given to coach Claude Julien for successfully picking up the pieces of a team that seemed to be last for much of last season.

The "Sneaking in by the Skin of Our Teeth" Picks

New York Rangers, 24-22-6, 54 pts

A month ago this pick would not have been a stretch, but over the past month the Rangers have not done many favors for themselves. Henrik Lundqvist's ability to win a stretch of games all on his own is likely what will save the Rangers season, but the Rangers will need to obtain either an offensive minded defenseman or an experienced veteran defensive defenseman. Rumors out of New York have Marek Malik with his bags packed and a plane ticket waiting for a destination, and a package deal that includes goaltending prospect Al Montoya could fetch the Rangers a high profile defenseman, pending any cap issues.

Washington Capitals, 23-22-5, 51 pts

The Capitals story is much the reverse to that of the Rangers. A little over one month ago, the Capitals were changing coaches and sitting in the depths of the NHL cellar. One month later, the Capitals are tearing through the Eastern Conference and leap frogging teams in the Southeast Division standings. Much of the recent success in Washington has been attributed to the team's inspired play under the tutelage of veteran minor league coach Bruce Boudreau. If the Caps coast into the playoffs, should Boudreau be considered for the Jack Adams Trophy for coach of the year?

The "Exclusions That Could Very Well Make Me Look Foolish" Picks

Montreal Canadiens, 26-15-8, 60 pts

Had it not been for the hot start to the Ottawa Senators' season, the Habs would be currently leading the Northeast Division. Yet somehow, they will find a way to severely drop in the standings over the next three months. This may be the year we finally see Alexei Kovalev have a complete meltdown (in Montreal, you just get this feeling that he's a ticking time bomb) or that we find out that Cristobal Huet is not the goaltender he has pretended to be over the past two season. In all likelihood, neither of these situations will become reality, with Kovalev having the best finish to a season in his career and Huet showing he's worth every penny of his $2.75 million per year contract, but such situations would only cause this prediction to be false. Therefore, in the words of Mythbuster Adam Savage, "I reject your reality and substitute my own!"

Atlanta Thrashers, 23-25-4, 50 pts

The Thrashers are the NHL's least talked about most dysfunctional club. Consider the facts: Atlanta has lacked a true head coach for most of the season; Kari Lehtonen, the franchise goaltender all Thrasher fans have been waiting on for three years, has spent nearly as much time in the press box healing from injury as he has playing between the pipes; the team's second star player, Marian Hossa, will likely be the best trade deadline rental player the league has ever seen, all for another team; and the Thrashers blueline is the worst in the entire NHL, with a league worst 175 goals against. Though this team will continue to have a promising future, GM Don Waddell has a busy summer ahead of him.

New York Islanders, 24-21-6, 54 pts

As long as Ted Nolan doesn't read this, it's safe to say the Islanders will be dead in the water come April. Thus far, the loss of several players to free agency hasn't seemed to affect the Isles much, but this is about the time of year that the changes to their roster will begin to show. Though Rick DiPietro has really begun to come into his own this season, the Islanders just do not have enough depth in their roster to get into the top eight in the Eastern Conference.

Florida Panthers, 22-24-5, 49 pts

The Panthers are ripe for a good playoff series, having seen the quiet development of Olli Jokinen and Jay Bouwmeester as quality leaders and hockey players. However, the Panthers continue to suffer from slow starts and will likely come close to a playoff berth, only to be eliminated from contention with less than five games left to go in the season. This will be truly unfortunate, mostly due to the great play of goaltender Tomas Vokoun during his first year in Florida.

The "We'll Get Our High Draft Choices and Be Better Next Year" Picks

Buffalo Sabres, 22-21-6, 50 pts

It always hurts to see a team go from prominence to obscurity. During the off-season everyone in the league seemed to be trying to spare GM Darcy Regier's feelings by not saying what was plain and obvious to the rest of the world. Had the Sabres not lost Chris Drury and/or Daniel Briere to free agency it is highly likely the Sabres would be somewhere in the top eight in the Eastern Conference. Most of all, there is not a chance that the Sabres would have suffered from a ten game losing streak. Though Briere and Drury have never been known as vocal leaders in the locker room, both players showed time again during their time in Buffalo that their pride alone would not allow them to lose ten games in a row. It's not very often a team finds a combination such as the one that Drury and Briere provided for the Sabres, and one can only hope that the team finds a way to rebound in the coming seasons.

Tampa Bay Lightning, 20-26-5, 45 pts

Such a talented team should not be so low in the standings and, unfortunately, two very good hockey men may lose their jobs as a result. The two men I'm referring to are Lightning GM Jay Feaster and coach John Tortorella, and unless this team experiences a miracle they will be the most talented team not in the playoffs. The rumor mill has been speculating on a straight swap with the Dallas Stars, Martin St. Louis for Marty Turco, but Dallas has vehemently denied the gossip. Although the Stars denial does not mean much, the deal doesn't make much sense for Tampa. The team does desperately need a true number one goaltender, but St. Louis would be far to steep a price to pay. It's more likely the Lightning will look to move Brad Richards and his huge contract to a playoff contender (can we say three team trade involving Richards, Mats Sundin and Andrew Raycroft of Toronto, and insert name here of insert playoff contending team here?).

Toronto Maple Leafs, 20-24-8, 48 pts

A week ago, it was stated in this blog that the Toronto Maple Leafs would be experiencing a great deal of change very soon. To no one's surprise, the Leafs fired their general manager and hired their old GM to handle those duties and tidy up the mess for someone else until this summer. That being said, the Leafs will be the team to watch during the month of February. Not due to any miracles they may pull out from the depths of their players' character, but to see how many different players will be in their lineup throughout the month. As we get closer to the trade deadline, the Leafs will be huge sellers with very few players being unavailable to other teams. In other words, the Leafs will be last season's Philadelphia Flyers, only the Leafs will likely fetch several draft picks rather than prospects that are ready to contribute to their lineup immediately.